


A Letter From a King

by Gizzwhizz



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, Letters, Prompto's mementos, Regis is a good dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24148858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gizzwhizz/pseuds/Gizzwhizz
Summary: King Regis writes a letter to his son's new friend after sharing an (awkward) dinner.For the Prompto Chocobo Zine.
Comments: 18
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was my story for the Prompto Chocobo Zine. I've never written Regis before, and rarely use a letter format, so I had a lot of fun putting this together. I imagine it as something that Prompto kept as a precious memento following his first visit to the Citadel and that he must have re-read it countless times. Sadly, it was likely lost in the fall of Insomnia...
> 
> *I have now posted the letter's contents in plain text in Chapter 2 for anyone who finds the formatting too difficult to read. Please enjoy!

M.E. 750-IX-29th

  


Dear Prompto Argentum,

I am writing to express my gratitude for your presence at dinner with my son last week. Having spent time with Noctis, I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that my son and I have grown apart in recent years. As far as I know Noctis makes no secret of the fact. While I support his sense of independence and his wish to live outside of the Citadel, I have tried to maintain at least a weekly family dinner with him. I don’t know if he’s spoken of these dinners with you before last week, but they have often been chilly affairs. He can be sullen and quiet (though I would ask you not to repeat that to him) and watching him act so morose has been quite difficult for me, I must admit.

The truth is, Noctis has always struggled to make friends (again, I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell him that I told you that), so to hear that he had grown close to one of his classmates so quickly after entering high school was somewhat of a surprise to me. Having met you, however, I am beyond pleased that he has chosen to call you his friend.

That was my main motivation for inviting you to dinner, in fact. I don’t mind telling you that several of my staff were against the idea—and I fear that, given your initial nerves, you may have sensed as much and for that I feel I must apologize. I don’t wish to bore you with the details, but there is an awful lot of bureaucratic red tape involved in welcoming a civilian into the Citadel. Some of my counsel can be especially paranoid at times, much to my chagrin, and in your particular case…well, let us just say that I eventually convinced them that a single fifteen-year-old was not a cause for concern. And at the end of the day, I am still the King, after all (though it doesn’t always feel like it). I freely admit to you, I was curious to meet the young man who has befriended my son, despite the objections of my advisors. 

I was not disappointed.

Prompto Argentum, I hope that you know what a kind soul you truly are. For the first time in years, Noctis did more than push his food around his plate and offer single-word answers to my questions. More than that, he actually smiled. He laughed! You cannot begin to imagine how long it has been since I’ve heard my son laugh. I won’t embarrass him by describing the last occasion here, but suffice it to say that it has been a very, very long time since I had the pleasure of hearing his laughter in my presence. I hope you don’t imagine that there is any love lost between us, for that is not the case. Rather, I fear that Noctis sees me as a reminder of his station more often than is perhaps good for him—but that’s a speculation for another time.

Listening to the two of you chat over our meal was a true joy and a welcomed change from my son’s usual air of malaise. I so rarely hear him discuss his own interests that I couldn’t even bring myself to interject. I hope that you took no offense to the resulting silence on my part for most of the meal, I was simply enjoying listening to the two of you that much.

I’ll admit that between your inside jokes and your discussions of various video games, most of your conversation went over my head. I was delighted, however, when you mention an interest in photography. You seemed quite enthusiastic about the picture you shared of the city skyline from my son’s apartment at dusk, as I recall. And rightly so. I am no expert on photography, but I’ve seen my fair share of artistic works over the years while touring and christening art galleries, and if I may say so, your work appears far above that of an amateur to me. You have a gift, Prompto Argentum, if I may be so bold as to put it down in writing. If it isn’t too much trouble, I would very much like to see more of your photography the next time we have the pleasure of dining together.

Though our time together was short, your friendship and loyalty towards my son was obvious. The fact that he enjoys your company so much certainly doesn’t hurt matters either. I don’t presume to know your intentions for the future after you graduate from high school, but I would urge you to consider joining the Crownsguard. Noctis may find his independence from his duties as part of the Royal Family greatly decreased after graduation, I fear, and I for one would sleep better at night knowing that at least one member of his sworn protectors also calls him a friend. None of us may know how much time we have in this world, but it brings me peace to know that my son might have a true friend by his side when he must eventually take the Throne.

In closing, I am extremely grateful to you for befriending my son, Prompto Argentum. Your presence clearly makes him happy. To be perfectly frank, it lifts his spirits in a way I haven’t seen in years. While I suspect he doesn’t talk about it much, the truth is that my son is often weighed down by his duties as well as other worries that I'm sure I have no knowledge of. With you by his side, however, he seems capable of setting those worries aside, for a little while at least, and for that I am eternally grateful.

It was a pleasure to dine with you and I hope you will grace our table with your presence again soon.

Yours faithfully, 

Regis Lucis Caelum

Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII

King of Lucis 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a request to post the plain text of the letter to make it easier to read, so this is the same text as the first chapter, just without the formatting.
> 
> Please enjoy!

M.E. 750-IX-29th

Dear Prompto Argentum,

I am writing to express my gratitude for your presence at dinner with my son last week. Having spent time with Noctis, I’m sure it’s no surprise to you that my son and I have grown apart in recent years. As far as I know Noctis makes no secret of the fact. While I support his sense of independence and his wish to live outside of the Citadel, I have tried to maintain at least a weekly family dinner with him. I don’t know if he’s spoken of these dinners with you before last week, but they have often been chilly affairs. He can be sullen and quiet (though I would ask you not to repeat that to him) and watching him act so morose has been quite difficult for me, I must admit.

The truth is, Noctis has always struggled to make friends (again, I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell him that I told you that), so to hear that he had grown close to one of his classmates so quickly after entering high school was somewhat of a surprise to me. Having met you, however, I am beyond pleased that he has chosen to call you his friend.

That was my main motivation for inviting you to dinner, in fact. I don’t mind telling you that several of my staff were against the idea—and I fear that, given your initial nerves, you may have sensed as much and for that I feel I must apologize. I don’t wish to bore you with the details, but there is an awful lot of bureaucratic red tape involved in welcoming a civilian into the Citadel. Some of my counsel can be especially paranoid at times, much to my chagrin, and in your particular case…well, let us just say that I eventually convinced them that a single fifteen-year-old was not a cause for concern. And at the end of the day, I am still the King, after all (though it doesn’t always feel like it). I freely admit to you, I was curious to meet the young man who has befriended my son, despite the objections of my advisors.

I was not disappointed.

Prompto Argentum, I hope that you know what a kind soul you truly are. For the first time in years, Noctis did more than push his food around his plate and offer single-word answers to my questions. More than that, he actually smiled. He laughed! You cannot begin to imagine how long it has been since I’ve heard my son laugh. I won’t embarrass him by describing the last occasion here, but suffice it to say that it has been a very, very long time since I had the pleasure of hearing his laughter in my presence. I hope you don’t imagine that there is any love lost between us, for that is not the case. Rather, I fear that Noctis sees me as a reminder of his station more often than is perhaps good for him—but that’s a speculation for another time.

Listening to the two of you chat over our meal was a true joy and a welcomed change from my son’s usual air of malaise. I so rarely hear him discuss his own interests that I couldn’t even bring myself to interject. I hope that you took no offense to the resulting silence on my part for most of the meal, I was simply enjoying listening to the two of you that much.

I’ll admit that between your inside jokes and your discussions of various video games, most of your conversation went over my head. I was delighted, however, when you mention an interest in photography. You seemed quite enthusiastic about the picture you shared of the city skyline from my son’s apartment at dusk, as I recall. And rightly so. I am no expert on photography, but I’ve seen my fair share of artistic works over the years while touring and christening art galleries, and if I may say so, your work appears far above that of an amateur to me. You have a gift, Prompto Argentum, if I may be so bold as to put it down in writing. If it isn’t too much trouble, I would very much like to see more of your photography the next time we have the pleasure of dining together.

Though our time together was short, your friendship and loyalty towards my son was obvious. The fact that he enjoys your company so much certainly doesn’t hurt matters either. I don’t presume to know your intentions for the future after you graduate from high school, but I would urge you to consider joining the Crownsguard. Noctis may find his independence from his duties as part of the Royal Family greatly decreased after graduation, I fear, and I for one would sleep better at night knowing that at least one member of his sworn protectors also calls him a friend. None of us may know how much time we have in this world, but it brings me peace to know that my son might have a true friend by his side when he must eventually take the Throne.

In closing, I am extremely grateful to you for befriending my son, Prompto Argentum. Your presence clearly makes him happy. To be perfectly frank, it lifts his spirits in a way I haven’t seen in years. While I suspect he doesn’t talk about it much, the truth is that my son is often weighed down by his duties as well as other worries that I'm sure I have no knowledge of. With you by his side, however, he seems capable of setting those worries aside, for a little while at least, and for that I am eternally grateful.

It was a pleasure to dine with you and I hope you will grace our table with your presence again soon.

Yours faithfully,

Regis Lucis Caelum

Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII

King of Lucis


End file.
